New Zealand was actively involved in the process to develop a Political Declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, and was among the first group of states to endorse the Political Declaration in Dublin in November 2022. At the endorsing conference in Dublin, New Zealand called on all states to endorse the Declaration as a meaningful contribution towards reducing civilian harm as a result of urban conflict. It also reiterated its commitment in promoting the Declaration in the Indo-Pacific region with a view to achieving its universalisation and full implementation.1
New Zealand regularly delivered statements throughout the consultations towards a Political Declaration2, as well as raising concerns around explosive weapons in populated areas and expressing support for a Political Declaration in other multilateral forums. Early in the consultation process New Zealand highlighted four key points which it considered to be central to an effective Political Declaration: a focus on addressing the high likelihood of harm to civilians and civilian objects when explosive weapons with wide area effects are used in populated areas and an acknowledgment that this harm includes the indirect or reverberating effects; a focus on compliance with existing obligations under International Humanitarian Law (IHL); add value from a policy perspective, in particular through practical guidance on how to respond to the challenges of protecting civilians and civilian objects during conflict in urban areas; and the Political Declaration should not be an end in itself but rather a launching pad for further engagement and action to address the harm caused by explosive weapons.3
These points were often reflected in New Zealand’s statements to the consultations as they progressed. In the second round of consultations, New Zealand said that the Political Declaration should be as clear as possible about what it is adding to ensure IHL can be better implemented with respect to the use of EWIPA, and supported the inclusion of an implementation process for the Declaration.4 In later consultations it opposed the use of the word “refrain”, considering it insufficient when the use of weapons that are inherently indiscriminate is prohibited outright under IHL. New Zealand also encouraged the inclusion of detail and specificity on what could be considered unclear terms such as “indirect” and “reverberating” as well as regarding obligations such as military cooperation and sharing of good practices.5 Alongside numerous other states it opposed the use of qualifiers such as “can cause harm” in the text, and supported an expanded list of direct effects of explosive weapons in populated areas including the destruction of hospitals.6 New Zealand also expressed support for a follow-up mechanism, and spoke on the importance of any and all follow-up processes retaining inclusivity toward and participation of civil society organizations.7
Statements and positions
New Zealand has on several occasions spoken on explosive weapons in populated areas in multilateral forums, primarily to stress the grave destruction caused by use of explosive weapons in populated areas, including destruction of civilian infrastructure, and the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of such use including displacement. New Zealand issued statements on explosive weapons in populated areas at UN Security Council Open Debates on the Protection of Civilians in February 2013,8 May 2017,9 and in May 201910. It also referred to the explosive weapons in populated areas at UN General Assembly First Committee in 2015,11 urging to explore ways to minimise harm from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. New Zealand also issued a statement at the UN General Assembly First Committee Debate on Conventional Weapons in October 2016, welcoming the process for a Political Declaration on explosive weapons in populated areas.12 In 2017, New Zealand stressed the “downstream consequences” of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas at the UN General Assembly First Committee.13 New Zealand reiterated its views at the 2018 UN General Assembly First Committee.14 and in 2023 repeated its call for states to join the Political Declaration, including states from the Indo-Pacific region.15
Alongside its individual statements, New Zealand has repeatedly aligned with other states to deliver statements on explosive weapons in populated areas. In 2018 and 2019, it joined some 50 and 71 states respectively to endorse joint statements on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas at the UN General Assembly First Committee, calling attention to the devastating and long-lasting humanitarian impact of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas and urging states to reverse the trend of high levels of civilian harm 16.
New Zealand also aligned with the World Humanitarian Summit Core Commitments to ‘Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity’ in May 2016, including: “Commit to promote and enhance the protection of civilians and civilian objects, especially in the conduct of hostilities, for instance by working to prevent civilian harm resulting from the use of wide-area explosive weapons in populated areas, and by sparing civilian infrastructure from military use in the conduct of military operations.”17 It supported the statement by Austria to the World Humanitarian Summit in which Austria pledged to continue to engage in raising international awareness about the challenge for the protection of civilians in armed conflict posed by the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas and committed to support the collection of data on civilian harm.18